Bingo! If the kernel is in some remote location (i.e. Cayman Islands), then enterprises can run all their apps locally, but SCO cannot sue them for copyright violation (because the code is offshore)!
Sure, ping times will be a bitch, but.../just kidding
Has he linked his project to the War on Terror(TM)? If not, he won't stand a chance of getting any funding or attention. The virus protection scam comes close, but he needs to throw in a little more doom and gloom...
The system you outline only increases the set of eyeballs watching the box, eyeballs attached to minds that can be coerced and bought/blackmailed/forced-with-the-comfy-chair.
The mathematical checks I described are still going to be used if something seems fishy.
Actually, the checks you describe only support my post.
The biggest boom for this market will NOT be you calling your friends to gossip or talk about cars, it will be to have instant tech support or online help while shopping: you're sitting at your computer, looking at something, and needing help.
There are already online stores (Amazon.com, backcountrystore, etc.) that offer instant chat with a service rep-- it`s a very short hop, skip and a jump from there to being able to dial up at customer service rep. and verbally talk while getting help or confirming an order.
Things will get mean when this process goes the other way: once I buy a CD on Amazon, someone will call me on my VoIP to upsell or cross sell me on related titles...
The scientific philosopher Thomas Kuhn put forth a model of "scientific progress" where-- simply put-- once you get enough people to accept a theory as "true", it becomes the baseline for truth. The most common example of this is the slow progressive adaption of Newtonian Physics, and then of Einstein's Relativity: doubters are in abundance, until they are won over to the new paradigm.
WIkipedia, IMHO, is the epitomy of that concept: if you get enough people on the Internet to write a common text, and go to great lengths to democratize the process, then you will get the generally accepted "truth". Even scam busters like Snopes often resort to the line of reasoning "this sounds too much like an urban myth, therefore it's an urbam myth" variant on the same theme.
Don't get me wrong-- I love the WIkipedia. In my book, it's enough truth to get you through the day, and that's all I really need 98% of the time.
1. Would this mean that ISPs who blanket metro areas could theoretically steal all the voice traffic currently going over cell networks? 2. Would the ISPs have the bandwidth to carry all that? 3. Would they want it?
The reason I am thinking is that ATT/TimeWarner/Comcast/AOL would really like some vengeance against the cell providers, no?
Ballots *could* be compromised at all sorts of places along the chain. The NYT article seems to be making political hay out of the fact that there happen to be some additional points along that chain for overseas military ballots.
Ballots could be compromised by the electioneers at your local library/fire station/place of baloting-- that was never the real check. The check on ballot tampering has always been: - statistical anomalies to spot possible tampering - ballot counting to verify/disprove tampering.
This may seem simpleton, but it's how things have been done for the length of the republic. I don't see how adding some more stages (with the same checks at each stage) would fundamentally alter that-- unless you're a newspaper trying to raise the spectre of a rigged election 2 months before voting starts...
I once had an idea for an MMPORG, where the code was completely open-- obviously, some people would write hacks, cheats, and other tools to stay ahead. Others would write patches to disable the patches from the first group. Still others would buy and sell all these add-ons to the game...
Then I realized it had already been invented in 1969 by some CompSci geeks based on some theoretical work at the RAND corporation...
Absolutely innovative. It seems that Rio is offering superior functionality in a package that, if anything, will steal thunder from the hipster factor of an iPod. That is very innovative in my opinion. This same thinking drives most product design, from streamlined cars in the 1930s to PDAs in the late 1990s: steal thunder from the outer packaging while putting your innovations "under the hood".
If you are buying electronics because the case is "cool" and not the innards, then you are a fool.
Close, but it's a Metropolitan Area (to), not a prefecture (ken). Prices are certainly high in Tokyo, but not where they really would be had it not been for a 12 year malaise. Prices have been pretty much stagnant for the last 6-7 years. Coupled with loans at 3%, and capital is pretty much "free" at this point.
If you are worried about shoddy building codes and pollution, then you probably have not been to Seoul, Pusan, Shanghai, or anywhere in the interior of China. Tokyo is a rocksafe paradise by comparison.
Collusion among Japanese companies? I'm shocked! Shocked!!
The GOJ raids probably 2-3 major industries each year on average. Collusion is bound to happen when: 1. almost every major company has its HQ in one city (Tokyo) 2. everyone knows each other 3. if/when a manager changes teams, it is assumed he will take the Db and any other data he can obtain on his way out the door 4. "gentlemanly cooperation" is seen as a way to maintain safe sales levels for everyone, while going for the jugular on external (overseas) sales
We haven't managed to do anything for millions of Americans with no health insurance , our kids are dumb as bricks because their schools are cutting programs and staff, and our police/fire/ems departments are laying off staff left and right from budget cuts...but hey, we've got a plane that can do mach 15 at 100,000 feet! Sweet!
Okay, I'll bite:
1. I am not a big fan of NASA right now either, especially after seeing what an expensive boondoggle the Shuttle and ISS have become, but considering their budget, we do get some pretty good basic R&D for our money.
2. What more would you have the Feds do with your (my) money toward all the bleeding heart causes you listed?
- there is already assistance for anyone below the poverty line that pretty much equates to free food, free healthcare, and to a certain extend, free housing.
- did it ever occur to you that our kids are "dumb as bricks" because there is TOO MUCH interference from the government? What makes you think more federal money will fix things?
- police/firemen/ems is the responsibility of your local county council, not the federal government. I agree that those services are very important, but maybe we should be arguing for LESS money going to the feds, so we can spend more tax money locally.
- nothing is stopping you from donating your money to match your heart, but you won't impose your value system (and corresponding budget) on me without a fight...
Combining a TV with a notebook is a big point here in Japan. Many young people live in single room apartments (literally 15 sq metre boxes) where space is at an extreme premium. As such, many just cannot afford the space of having both a computer monitor and a television.
Dell Japan offers TV tuners for their desktops only in Japan. All the Japanese manufacturers (Fujitsu, Toshiba, NEC, Hitachi, Sony, et al) pack TV tuners in their machines as defaults. Toshiba has made the jump by avoiding the 20-seconds of boot-up time when someone just wants to watch the latest episode of Gundam reruns...
While we're on the subject of japanese notebooks, the US notebooks suck in terms of case design and overall size/weight.
Red Hat, as we all know, dominates the US market. SuSE used to have a strong hold on Germany, and I think momentum is taking them through that to some degree. Mandrake seems to have plucked the right strings with the French Govt (major buys lately) and they will see some domestic growth there.
Asia is still wide open: Red Hat is the only real distro around, but their execution is leaving a lot to be desired. SuSE just isn't here, and Turbo, Miracle, Red Flag are such odd little operations that they cannot seem to gain any marketshare.
I would think that the place things get interesting is where the race between IBM and HP in the developing world (Indonesia, Malaysia, Middle East, India) brings a linux with them. Increasingly, IBM is bringing SuSE with them, while HP signs deals with whatever local distro is the flavour of the day (Turbo in Japan and China, Red Flag in China, ? in Korea).
Where 'Comic Books' are considered Geeky in the US, Manga is read by everyone from children to housewives to businessmen.
Well, Manga come with their own social baggage here (Tokyo) also: sure, readership cuts across social class, age group, sex, and educational level, but a manga is not a book, it's something you read when you're on the train or having a smoke on your break.
Frankly, people caught reading manga at their desks at work or in social situations are usually snickered at for being pedestrian or purposefully low-brow (much like the reception one would get reading a comic book in the US).
Certainly it does, but as so many people here remind us that the airwaves are a public trust and the govt should guarantee access, stop Clear Channel, etc etc etc, this kind of intrusiveness is the cost.
Personally, I am all for complete privatisation of frequencies that can be bought and sold.
Edison was notorious for jealously guarding his patents and squeezing them for every dollar he could. This man is a much better human being.
Hrmmmm... So, you're saying that profit and capital gain from invention is evil? I see. Can you give me half your salary please? (no reason-- but you seem to hate money and I like money)
Edison certainly was a sonofabitch on guarding his inventions, and certainly was not above hucksterism and stunts to promote his stuff, but remember-- Edison's companies went on to form the backbone of the American economy in the 20th Century. That economic might has ended up bettering the lives of billions of people, and saving millions.
I love Open Source software, but not out of some RMS-style people's democratic republic-- but out of the superior model it provides for development of code, and money.
In 2000, I remember noticing that GWB's site used Apache and Gore's used IIS
This is an important point to make. I'm neither trying to be a Bush apologist nor a conspiracy theorist, but it would seem to me that MS put its money where it thought the winner would be (when it made the donations). Certainly Bush has let MS off the hook from their previous trial, but I wouldn't read a cabal in that, rather just a "let's get the govt off of big business' back" appeal to core right-wingers.
If MS handed a campaign a bunch of software with hints of donations to go along with it, any campaign manager would quickly overrule the IT guy who wanted to use Apache "on principle". I wouldn't doubt that the Kerry people would do the same if the same carrots were held out to them (like they were to Gore in 2000).
The sad part is that Open-Source is actually closer to the heart of what used to be core rep[ublican values: openness of information, openness of commerce, libertarian leizzes-faire approach to the market.
What I don't understand is why the companies didn't simply formalize and commit to enhancing the current packages that are out there. Xine, Totem, and others already play MPG, AVI, and even WMV formats--
This seems more like a marketshare play for Real (who is scared of getting streamlined into oblivion by the Evil Empire), especially now that technically Linux has more desktops than Mac. I would guess that Real will take the opportunity to cram all sorts of its bloat and content tie-ins with this, but that the Linux community will tell them to get bent. Another possible play here is that Real hopes to "get in early" for this developing desktop market, and make thier future totally on the content-providing end. I can see them packaging up some sort of MediaServer software to run on company's Linux networks...
obligatory paranoia against the "State"?
on
Reverse Graffiti
·
· Score: 5, Insightful
But perhaps the state is now going too far
I'm sorry, but did I miss a meeting? Is this now an obligatory inclusion in all articles? Must all articles now declare the state is going too far, our rights are trounced, or privacy is at dire risk?!?
I won't even attempt to argue the rights of property owners, the state's responsiblity to protect property, social mores, etc...
*sigh* I grew up there. It is a really nice place if you like the outdoors-- skiing in the mountains, hiking in the deserts, river rafting... But damn if the judges aren't screwy when it comes to protecting all sorts of hair-brained business schemes.
Ya know all those herbal supplemental crap adverts in your spam? Half of those companies are based in Utah. Ya know all the data-mining goofiness going on? Those ding-dongs are ex-Novell clowns looking to cash in.
Basically, if anyone can go before a judge and say that "Law X interferes with my right to potentially screw suckers out of their idiot cash", then that judge will slam that law into the ground. It's like they take the nasty edge of libertarianism in commerce but forget the rights of the individual privacy that go along with it.
From my experience, this lobbyist-centred attack on Open Source is a misplaced (thank God) effort:
Companies going with Open Source really don't give a damn about the license. They really (as always) care about functionality, security, and FLEXIBILITY. The whole GPL-is-a-borg-virus thing never really enters into the equation.
Asian and EU governments are sick of bending over and taking it in the *** from Microsoft, period. Proprietary software vs. open source (again) has nothing to do with it. Linux just so happens to be the best hope at sticking it to them right now.
Lawyers and small businessmen, in the end, are not the decision-makers. The ones who know what they are doing focus on business issues, and leave the IT stuff to their IT guy (CTO for big biz, the sysadmin for small biz). The IT guys are jumping over to OSS, no matter how many FUD white papers from "think tanks" get passed around.
MS is chasing the wrong fox here. The problem (for them) is that it's the only one they know how to chase.
Slashdot Mirror
Federal programs are available to you! You can make THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS with a simple email or phone call!
1. Find a spammer
2. Turn him in
3. Profit!!!
The Federal Government wants this message to get out to all InterWeb users! So send this mail to all your friends and family!
Bingo! If the kernel is in some remote location (i.e. Cayman Islands), then enterprises can run all their apps locally, but SCO cannot sue them for copyright violation (because the code is offshore)!
/just kidding
Sure, ping times will be a bitch, but...
Has he linked his project to the War on Terror(TM)? If not, he won't stand a chance of getting any funding or attention. The virus protection scam comes close, but he needs to throw in a little more doom and gloom...
The system you outline only increases the set of eyeballs watching the box, eyeballs attached to minds that can be coerced and bought/blackmailed/forced-with-the-comfy-chair.
The mathematical checks I described are still going to be used if something seems fishy.
Actually, the checks you describe only support my post.
The biggest boom for this market will NOT be you calling your friends to gossip or talk about cars, it will be to have instant tech support or online help while shopping: you're sitting at your computer, looking at something, and needing help.
There are already online stores (Amazon.com, backcountrystore, etc.) that offer instant chat with a service rep-- it`s a very short hop, skip and a jump from there to being able to dial up at customer service rep. and verbally talk while getting help or confirming an order.
Things will get mean when this process goes the other way: once I buy a CD on Amazon, someone will call me on my VoIP to upsell or cross sell me on related titles...
The scientific philosopher Thomas Kuhn put forth a model of "scientific progress" where-- simply put-- once you get enough people to accept a theory as "true", it becomes the baseline for truth. The most common example of this is the slow progressive adaption of Newtonian Physics, and then of Einstein's Relativity: doubters are in abundance, until they are won over to the new paradigm.
WIkipedia, IMHO, is the epitomy of that concept: if you get enough people on the Internet to write a common text, and go to great lengths to democratize the process, then you will get the generally accepted "truth". Even scam busters like Snopes often resort to the line of reasoning "this sounds too much like an urban myth, therefore it's an urbam myth" variant on the same theme.
Don't get me wrong-- I love the WIkipedia. In my book, it's enough truth to get you through the day, and that's all I really need 98% of the time.
1. Would this mean that ISPs who blanket metro areas could theoretically steal all the voice traffic currently going over cell networks?
2. Would the ISPs have the bandwidth to carry all that?
3. Would they want it?
The reason I am thinking is that ATT/TimeWarner/Comcast/AOL would really like some vengeance against the cell providers, no?
Ballots *could* be compromised at all sorts of places along the chain. The NYT article seems to be making political hay out of the fact that there happen to be some additional points along that chain for overseas military ballots.
Ballots could be compromised by the electioneers at your local library/fire station/place of baloting-- that was never the real check. The check on ballot tampering has always been:
- statistical anomalies to spot possible tampering
- ballot counting to verify/disprove tampering.
This may seem simpleton, but it's how things have been done for the length of the republic. I don't see how adding some more stages (with the same checks at each stage) would fundamentally alter that-- unless you're a newspaper trying to raise the spectre of a rigged election 2 months before voting starts...
I once had an idea for an MMPORG, where the code was completely open-- obviously, some people would write hacks, cheats, and other tools to stay ahead. Others would write patches to disable the patches from the first group. Still others would buy and sell all these add-ons to the game...
Then I realized it had already been invented in 1969 by some CompSci geeks based on some theoretical work at the RAND corporation...
wow, innovative
Absolutely innovative. It seems that Rio is offering superior functionality in a package that, if anything, will steal thunder from the hipster factor of an iPod. That is very innovative in my opinion. This same thinking drives most product design, from streamlined cars in the 1930s to PDAs in the late 1990s: steal thunder from the outer packaging while putting your innovations "under the hood".
If you are buying electronics because the case is "cool" and not the innards, then you are a fool.
Tokyo's not a city, but a prefecture
Close, but it's a Metropolitan Area (to), not a prefecture (ken). Prices are certainly high in Tokyo, but not where they really would be had it not been for a 12 year malaise. Prices have been pretty much stagnant for the last 6-7 years. Coupled with loans at 3%, and capital is pretty much "free" at this point.
If you are worried about shoddy building codes and pollution, then you probably have not been to Seoul, Pusan, Shanghai, or anywhere in the interior of China. Tokyo is a rocksafe paradise by comparison.
Collusion among Japanese companies?
I'm shocked! Shocked!!
The GOJ raids probably 2-3 major industries each year on average. Collusion is bound to happen when:
1. almost every major company has its HQ in one city (Tokyo)
2. everyone knows each other
3. if/when a manager changes teams, it is assumed he will take the Db and any other data he can obtain on his way out the door
4. "gentlemanly cooperation" is seen as a way to maintain safe sales levels for everyone, while going for the jugular on external (overseas) sales
We haven't managed to do anything for millions of Americans with no health insurance , our kids are dumb as bricks because their schools are cutting programs and staff, and our police/fire/ems departments are laying off staff left and right from budget cuts...but hey, we've got a plane that can do mach 15 at 100,000 feet! Sweet!
Okay, I'll bite:
1. I am not a big fan of NASA right now either, especially after seeing what an expensive boondoggle the Shuttle and ISS have become, but considering their budget, we do get some pretty good basic R&D for our money.
2. What more would you have the Feds do with your (my) money toward all the bleeding heart causes you listed?
- there is already assistance for anyone below the poverty line that pretty much equates to free food, free healthcare, and to a certain extend, free housing.
- did it ever occur to you that our kids are "dumb as bricks" because there is TOO MUCH interference from the government? What makes you think more federal money will fix things?
- police/firemen/ems is the responsibility of your local county council, not the federal government. I agree that those services are very important, but maybe we should be arguing for LESS money going to the feds, so we can spend more tax money locally.
- nothing is stopping you from donating your money to match your heart, but you won't impose your value system (and corresponding budget) on me without a fight...
Those Duke Nukem guys should have this problem pegged by now...
Combining a TV with a notebook is a big point here in Japan. Many young people live in single room apartments (literally 15 sq metre boxes) where space is at an extreme premium. As such, many just cannot afford the space of having both a computer monitor and a television.
Dell Japan offers TV tuners for their desktops only in Japan. All the Japanese manufacturers (Fujitsu, Toshiba, NEC, Hitachi, Sony, et al) pack TV tuners in their machines as defaults. Toshiba has made the jump by avoiding the 20-seconds of boot-up time when someone just wants to watch the latest episode of Gundam reruns...
While we're on the subject of japanese notebooks, the US notebooks suck in terms of case design and overall size/weight.
Red Hat, as we all know, dominates the US market. SuSE used to have a strong hold on Germany, and I think momentum is taking them through that to some degree. Mandrake seems to have plucked the right strings with the French Govt (major buys lately) and they will see some domestic growth there.
Asia is still wide open: Red Hat is the only real distro around, but their execution is leaving a lot to be desired. SuSE just isn't here, and Turbo, Miracle, Red Flag are such odd little operations that they cannot seem to gain any marketshare.
I would think that the place things get interesting is where the race between IBM and HP in the developing world (Indonesia, Malaysia, Middle East, India) brings a linux with them. Increasingly, IBM is bringing SuSE with them, while HP signs deals with whatever local distro is the flavour of the day (Turbo in Japan and China, Red Flag in China, ? in Korea).
Where 'Comic Books' are considered Geeky in the US, Manga is read by everyone from children to housewives to businessmen.
Well, Manga come with their own social baggage here (Tokyo) also: sure, readership cuts across social class, age group, sex, and educational level, but a manga is not a book, it's something you read when you're on the train or having a smoke on your break.
Frankly, people caught reading manga at their desks at work or in social situations are usually snickered at for being pedestrian or purposefully low-brow (much like the reception one would get reading a comic book in the US).
Doesn't the government have better things to do?
Certainly it does, but as so many people here remind us that the airwaves are a public trust and the govt should guarantee access, stop Clear Channel, etc etc etc, this kind of intrusiveness is the cost.
Personally, I am all for complete privatisation of frequencies that can be bought and sold.
Edison was notorious for jealously guarding his patents and squeezing them for every dollar he could. This man is a much better human being.
Hrmmmm... So, you're saying that profit and capital gain from invention is evil? I see. Can you give me half your salary please? (no reason-- but you seem to hate money and I like money)
Edison certainly was a sonofabitch on guarding his inventions, and certainly was not above hucksterism and stunts to promote his stuff, but remember-- Edison's companies went on to form the backbone of the American economy in the 20th Century. That economic might has ended up bettering the lives of billions of people, and saving millions.
I love Open Source software, but not out of some RMS-style people's democratic republic-- but out of the superior model it provides for development of code, and money.
In 2000, I remember noticing that GWB's site used Apache and Gore's used IIS
This is an important point to make. I'm neither trying to be a Bush apologist nor a conspiracy theorist, but it would seem to me that MS put its money where it thought the winner would be (when it made the donations). Certainly Bush has let MS off the hook from their previous trial, but I wouldn't read a cabal in that, rather just a "let's get the govt off of big business' back" appeal to core right-wingers.
If MS handed a campaign a bunch of software with hints of donations to go along with it, any campaign manager would quickly overrule the IT guy who wanted to use Apache "on principle". I wouldn't doubt that the Kerry people would do the same if the same carrots were held out to them (like they were to Gore in 2000).
The sad part is that Open-Source is actually closer to the heart of what used to be core rep[ublican values: openness of information, openness of commerce, libertarian leizzes-faire approach to the market.
*sigh* where are you Ike?
What I don't understand is why the companies didn't simply formalize and commit to enhancing the current packages that are out there. Xine, Totem, and others already play MPG, AVI, and even WMV formats--
This seems more like a marketshare play for Real (who is scared of getting streamlined into oblivion by the Evil Empire), especially now that technically Linux has more desktops than Mac. I would guess that Real will take the opportunity to cram all sorts of its bloat and content tie-ins with this, but that the Linux community will tell them to get bent. Another possible play here is that Real hopes to "get in early" for this developing desktop market, and make thier future totally on the content-providing end. I can see them packaging up some sort of MediaServer software to run on company's Linux networks...
But perhaps the state is now going too far
I'm sorry, but did I miss a meeting? Is this now an obligatory inclusion in all articles? Must all articles now declare the state is going too far, our rights are trounced, or privacy is at dire risk?!?
I won't even attempt to argue the rights of property owners, the state's responsiblity to protect property, social mores, etc...
If this film contains none of the above elements, then it doesn't belong on Slashdot-- try FARK for a better venue.
/. then many many many of us will bail, and /. will devolve quickly.
The second we start letting political rants have their portion of the stage in
*sigh*
I grew up there. It is a really nice place if you like the outdoors-- skiing in the mountains, hiking in the deserts, river rafting... But damn if the judges aren't screwy when it comes to protecting all sorts of hair-brained business schemes.
Ya know all those herbal supplemental crap adverts in your spam? Half of those companies are based in Utah. Ya know all the data-mining goofiness going on? Those ding-dongs are ex-Novell clowns looking to cash in.
Basically, if anyone can go before a judge and say that "Law X interferes with my right to potentially screw suckers out of their idiot cash", then that judge will slam that law into the ground. It's like they take the nasty edge of libertarianism in commerce but forget the rights of the individual privacy that go along with it.
Companies going with Open Source really don't give a damn about the license. They really (as always) care about functionality, security, and FLEXIBILITY. The whole GPL-is-a-borg-virus thing never really enters into the equation.
Asian and EU governments are sick of bending over and taking it in the *** from Microsoft, period. Proprietary software vs. open source (again) has nothing to do with it. Linux just so happens to be the best hope at sticking it to them right now.
Lawyers and small businessmen, in the end, are not the decision-makers. The ones who know what they are doing focus on business issues, and leave the IT stuff to their IT guy (CTO for big biz, the sysadmin for small biz). The IT guys are jumping over to OSS, no matter how many FUD white papers from "think tanks" get passed around.
MS is chasing the wrong fox here. The problem (for them) is that it's the only one they know how to chase.